The prior art teaches the manufacture of pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) compositions by solution and emulsion polymerizations. PSA produced by solution polymerization may be diluted with a solvent and coated in a thin layer on a backing material by processes well known in the adhesives art. In coating articles such as tapes with solution polymer PSAs, elaborate drying ovens have been required to carry away the volatile solvents after coating. Furthermore, to prevent the solvents from being vented to the atmosphere with resulting pollution and solvent loss, expensive solvent recovery equipment has been required. Safety hazards in such operations are also severe, as the solvents are flammable and precautions must be taken to avoid explosive mixtures in the oven and exhaust systems.
While emulsion polymerization has potentially eliminated the problems associated with handling and evaporation of flammable solvents (e.g., when adhesive is applied as a latex to a tape backing) the heat of vaporization of water must be supplied to dry the coating, and essentially the same drying equipment as used in solution coating must be employed. Direct coating of latices can give a coating with increased moisture sensitivity due to residual emulsifiers, and there are backings and substrates which are sensitive to moisture. Latex requires a higher drying temperature than solution polymers, and latex can lack stability in storage and handling, forming coagulum and plugging equipment.